COUNTING EVERY READER Al Gore is said by associates to be surprised that his newest books on family aren't selling well. The pair of books co-written with wife Tipper Gore (one of them is a coffee-table book intended to serve as companion to the "heavier" tome) are apparently headed toward the remainder bin as bookstores move more popular and potential Christmas gift fare into the line of sight of customers. "We aren't selling any," says a sales associate for Borders Books in Bethesda, Maryland. "And we thought given that this is kind of a political book and that it's by...

The former leader needs more than a makeover, says Orla Healy ITCHING for a rematch with George Bush in the 2004 presidential race, Al Gore last week reemerged from his Garbo-esque exile kicking off a 25-day, 12-city book tour to promote Joined at the Heart, which he wrote with his wife, Tipper. "The Gore book tour is like the trailer for a movie," says his former press secretary Chris Lehane. "It is interesting and entertaining but could also be a preview of what is to come. In the parlance of marketing and branding, it is a soft launch." Soft launch?...